Automatic car-fender



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' 0. E. STAHL.

AUTOMATIC OAR FENDER.

N0. 600,183. Patented Mar. 8,1898.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

v 0. E. STAHL. AUTOMATIG OAR FENDER.

Patented Mar. 8, 1898.

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UNITED STATES;-

PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER STAHL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AUTOMATIC CAR-FEN DER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 600,183,'dated March 8,1898.

Application filed October29, 1897. Serial Ilo. 656 ,744. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be-it known that I, OLIVER E. STAHL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Oar-Fenders, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to fenders for attachment to street-cars; and theobject of the invention is to provide new and improved means forpreventing a person who may be caught on the track from being run overby the moving car, the operation of the fender being to pick up theperson who may be struck.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a side elevation of the fender attached to the front of acar, the parts being in the position required for practical use. Thebroken lines show the position which certainparts take after a personhas been struck. Fig. 2 is a horizontal plan view looking down on theparts below the line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa front elevation of thefender. Fig. 4 is a front elevation separately of the pendent yieldingtripper. Fig. 5 is a'vertical section of same.

The letter A designates an arm attached at o. to the front platform B ofthe car and proj ecting forward and at its front end having a pivot 19.An upper side rail 0 has its upper end attached at a to the car and'itslower end to the front end of said arm A. A similar arm A and side rail0 is at each side. Between them the tilting fender is hung on the pivotsb.

The fenderis of novel construction and comprises at each side a bar F,which is secured to the said pivot 19. Its lower front end 6 inclinesdown and projects forward, and its rear partcurves up at cl and forwardat d. The upper ends of these two side bars F are connected by ahorizontal cross-bar F, and the lower cross-bar F connects the side barsat a pointsome distance back of the side pivots b. The two side bars F,upper bar F, and.

lower bar F constitute a frame and may be made of iron pipe. A guide andstay rod G connects the upper end of the frame with the lower front end6 of side bars F. When the fender-frame is in the normal runningposition, as in Fig. 1, the stay-rods G are nearly vertical.

When the fender tilts back and down, the side bars F of the fender takeposition inside of the fixed side rails .C; but the guide and stay rodsG take position on the outer side of said fixed rails. One or morechains h extend from the upper end of the frame back to the car, whereit is made fast. This chain prevents the fender-frame from tilting toofar forward. At each side a spiral spring I has one end attached to thelower front end 6 of the side bar forward of the pivots b, and the otherend of the spring is attached to the car'- platform B. When the fenderis in its normal ruunin g position, these spiral springs pull down onthe downward-inclined ends e, and thereby hold the curved part of fenderup in readiness for action.

When the fender-frame is tilted back on its pivots. b and takes theposition shown by broken lines in Fig. 1, the spiral springs I mustfirst yield or stretch a little to allow the said front end of thesprings to move up and pass the center point of said pivot, and then thesprings will retract, and their effect will be to pull up on the ends e,and thereby the springs will hold the curved part of the fender back anddown in the position to retain a person.

Attached to the lower cross-bar F are V- shaped prong spring clamps J,inclining downward and with their point ends forward. Each V-shapedprong is composed of two yielding rods or tubes having one end suitablysecured to the cross-bar F where they are spaced apart. ject forward andincline toward each other, and their front ends are united and coveredby elastic cushion-trips Z. This construction of a series of V-shapedprongs leaves an open V-shaped space between every two adjoining prongs,the widest part m being between the cushions. This space is sufficientto receive the legs of a man. If a man were standing on the car-track,an approaching car with this fender on it would cause these prongs totake on either side of the mans legs. His legs would then become wedgedin the narrow part m of the space. This action would catch or grip theman without injuring him or throwin g him over. The narrow part of thespaces, it will be observed, are back of or to the rear of the pivots b,and also are at the highest These two rods propart of the inclinedprongs J. Any weight placed on the fender at this part will cause it totilt back and down.

A trip device N is loosely jointed or hinged to the lower cross-bar Fand hangs pendent below the tilting frame and has a yielding cross-barwhich serves to trip up the feet of a person whose legs may becomewedged in the narrow part m of the space. When the legs of a standingperson are wedged in the narrow part m between the V-prongs, theadvancing cross-bar 3 below the prongs will push forward the personsfeet and trip him. The moment a person is thus tripped by the device Nhe will fall over into the net receptacle P back of and above thecross-bar, and thereupon the fender will tilt back and safely carry him.The trip device comprises the rods 0, each having an eye g at its upperend, which joints on the cross-rod F leaving the lower end free to swingforward. It is prevented from swinging backward by a chain 0', whichconnects the rod 0 with the side bar F. A yielding cross-bar s connectsacross between the two pendent rods 0, and a cushion-strap t, of rubber,canvas, or leather, extends horizontally at the lower edge of thecross-bars s. The tripping of a persons feet is done by thiscushion-strap. At the lower end of each pendent rod 0 is a roller orsmall wheel a, which when the fender tilts back comes down on thetrack-rail, but normally is elevated above the rail.

At the under side of each of the two side V-prongs which are directlyover the trackrails a roller or small wheel 1) is attached. In thenormal or ordinary position these rollers 11 will be elevated above therail; but as the prongs are yielding it will be seen that if a weight,such as a mans body, were to fall on the side prong and depress it theeffect would be to bring the roller 1 in contact with the track-rail.

From the description here given the operation of the device will beunderstood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A tiltingcar-fender comprising the following elements in combination: sidepivots; a lower cross-bar back of and above the said pivots; V-shapedprongs attached to the said cross-bar and inclining downward and forwardto a point in front of said pivots; and a net receptacle back of andabove the crossbar.

2. A tilting car-fender comprising the following elements: side pivots;a lower cross-bar back of and above the said pivots; V-shaped prongsattached to the said cross-bar and inclining downward and forward to apoint in front of said pivots; and a net receptacle back of and abovethe cross-bar; in combination with a trip device hanging pendent belowthe tilting fender to trip a person who may be caught between theV-prongs.

3. A tilting car-fender comprising the following elements: side pivots;alower cross-bar back of and above the said pivots; V-shaped prongsattached to the said cross-bar and inclining downward and forward to apoint in front of said pivots; and a net receptacle back of and abovethe cross-bar; in combination with a spiral spring at each side attachedby one end to the car and by the other end to the lower front end of thefender forward of said pivot.

4. Acar-fenderhavingaside bar, F, at each side and pivoted; a cross-barF back of and above said pivots and connecting said two side bars;aseries of V-shaped prongs-each prong composed of two yielding tubeshaving one end secured. to the cross-bar where they are spaced apart andwhich then project forward and incline toward each other and at theirfront ends are united; an elastic cushion sleeve or trip, Z, coveringsaid united front ends; and a receptacle back of and above thecross-bar.

5. A car-fender havinga sidebar, F, at each side and pivoted; across-bar F back of and above said pivots and connecting said two sidebars aseries of V-shaped prongs-each prong composed of two yieldingtubes having one end secured to the cross-bar where they are spacedapart and which then project forward and incline toward each other andat their front ends are united; an elastic cushion sleeve or trip, I,covering said united front ends; two rods, 0, jointed to the saidcrossbar one at each side of the fender and hang ing pendent below thefender; and a yieldin g cross-bans, connecting horizontally acrossbetween the lower ends of said two pendent I rods.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

OLIVER E. STAHL. Witnesses:

CHARLES B. MANN, J r., CHAPIN A. FERGUSON.

